Circuit interrupting devices function to isolate a fault condition in a power distribution system. Upon clearing of the fault condition certain types of these devices may be manually or automatically reclosed to restore the circuit. Faults in a power distribution system can occur for any number of reasons and are typically transient. Reclosing after the fault is cleared provides for quick service restoration.
A typical circuit interrupting device may include a vacuum interrupter having a stationary contact and a moving contact. During opening operations and closing operations of such vacuum interrupters, arcing and current flow through a partially opened vacuum interrupter may cause the stationary and moving contacts to weld together. Such welding increases the force required to subsequently open the vacuum interrupter. A typical circuit interrupting device may increase a mass of an insulating actuator rod or increase a spring constant of a contact spring within an actuation assembly to assist with opening such welded contacts. Although these typical circuit interrupting devices are suitable for their intended purpose, there is a need for circuit interrupters with improved performance.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a circuit interrupter device with a configuration designed for opening welded or partially welded vacuum interrupters. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.